Finding a mentor for your business

Many entrepreneurs start with a great idea: a better mousetrap, a new fashion fad or the perfect recipe for chicken fried steak. However, knowledge of the basics of how to do business don’t go hand in hand with great ideas. One of the best ways to learn about how to run a business is to talk to someone who’s already done it – who’s willing to mentor you in the various aspects of establishing a new business.

You may already have a mentor in mind: perhaps someone in your community who you’ve worked with or observed in action. If you’re having a harder time thinking of a way to find a mentor, however, there are a number of ways to find a mentor.

The Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE) helps entrepreneurs connect with volunteers with different types of business skills. SCORE volunteers are typically retired, although many are currently working as well. They offer a number of mentoring and counseling options, and all are completely free of charge. SCORE is a nonprofit who partners with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide resources to new business owners.

The SBA also offers help finding mentors through their Small Business Development Centers located throughout the company. The centers offer a network with the local private sector and government, to support new business initiatives. A list of centers by state is available on the SBA website. If you are an entrepreneur located outside of the U.S., you may need to contact your local government to discover if they offer similar services, such as Canada’s Strategis initiative.

Service organizations, such as the Rotary Club, as well as social organizations, offer mentoring programs. These programs vary by locations and you will need to contact a local chapter to find out what is available in your area.

Most entrepreneurs find that their new businesses fit into one profession or another, and therefore qualify to join a professional association. One of the chief benefits of professional associations is the opportunity to simply talk to others who have been in the business longer. There are thousands of organizations, and you can usually find an appropriate group by searching online.

Social network websites offer opportunities for finding mentors that you may have a connection with. Most notably, LinkedIn offers a number of ways to find potential mentors. First, you have the ability to get introductions to friends of your friends, which can be helpful if you can find an ideal mentor within that extended network. You can also ask for help from the general LinkedIn community by posting questions to the LinkedIn Answers forum. By reading other members’ answers, you can find experts on various business topics, as well as building a relationship with them. Other social networking sites have similar options.

Remember, you aren’t stuck with one specific mentor. If you find that you can’t establish any kind of working dynamic with a potential mentor, you can simply say thank you and move on. You can also have more than one mentor – you may find one individual who can advise you on finding the right location for your business, but another who can help more with developing your marketing plan.